Look at virtually everyone new to JavaScript and web development as a great example of this. Even brilliant minds, when first introduced to the surprisingly powerful JavaScript, post diatribes of dislike for it.

For instance consider-

"A bit surprised how many hoops I have to jump through to do asynchronous HTTP on Android. NSURLConnection+delegate was so easy."

So how does one do asynchronous HTTP on Android?

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/828280/is-there-an-accept...

Is that hard? What hoops are there? It is extraordinarily straightforward, and is built such that you are essentially the commander and chief of a centralized asynchronous mechanism. But yes, if you look for it to be exactly like you've done it before, it might seem Byzantine.

Android has a tremendous number of quirks and imperfections, but I see no reason why Joe Hewitt's opinion is of any significance.

Population in 1960: 15,717,204 Population in 2010: 36,961,664

$28B for 15.7M people is $1783 per person $119B for 37.9M people is $3140 per person.

And the costs have increased far faster than inflation, so comparing constant dollars is not an apples to apples comparison. Inflation includes a lot of things, but not everything. The state spends a massive portion of its revenues on education and healthcare, those are two things notoriously increasing in price faster than inflation.

It is fashionable to be anti-government, but the the numbers don't seem that bad to me when you look at the whole picture.

a) cost "nothing" to just write in the paper -- quite easy to balance

b) were actuarial suicide

c) will never be repealed.

Admittedly, they made the LED way too bright on the earlier MBPs, such that it would distract you if you were trying to sleep in a dark room. The newer MBPs have gotten the brightness just right, however.

Also, none of this ignores the fact that Apple routinely privileges superficial aesthetics over ergonomics, utility, etc. (Magic Mouse, hard edges on MBP, glossy displays), but that rarely stops the whole package from being the best on the market.

How is that conclusion much better than the one you're attacking?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_No_Asshole_Rule

This is definitely a detail that is appreciated.

In this article, they truly don’t disappoint.

A hilarious and misguided glorification of what, I imagine, is a soul crushing business for 99/100 prostitutes.

Written like a recruiting pamphlet, to boot.

And the answer to how a prostitute can earn far more by working far less?

Price elasticity of demand!

Stunning discovery Freakonomics.

/End Rant

He learned Latin in high school (think inner city kid learning Latin). Grew up with all the airfields in LA and mechanical engineering seemed like the thing, I guess. So despite being interned (he was a Japanese American) he went on to be a very successful engineer and eventually businessman (owned his own hydraulics company, etc.).

It's arguable that a lot of this happened because of a golden age in California's educational system. Same thing with my parents. I've met them and they're idiots -- but at least my father benefited greatly from UC Berkeley (he's a philosophy professor).

I think PG is right to question what exactly is going on. But there really was an extraordinary investment in higher education (for whatever reason) in the early- to mid- 20th century. And arguably, that affected a lot of things which we Californians take for granted.

I think what the OP is trying to say is that our attitude about public education has changed. It was irrational, the level of investment that was made into higher education pre-1980s (both raising and allocating funds). And today's set of challenges may require a different emphasis (e.g., charter schools, leaner campuses, more online learning, etc.) -- but that generous spirit that, afaik, built California into a great state -- that's not worth overlooking.

Me vs. Professor of Economics Steven Levitt:

Levitt:

1 hand-picked prostitue that was a guest lecturer in his college class.

Me:

- PROSTITUTION IS THE MOST DANGEROUS JOB IN AMERICA. The murder rate is 1 in 490. Compare that to the fishing industry, where the death rate is 1 in 775.

- Eighty-two percent of prostitutes reported having been physically assaulted since entering prostitution.

- Women trafficked to the United States have been forced to have sex with 400-500 men to pay off $40,000 in debt for their passage.

- Statistics show that at least 2/3 of prostitutes began working in prostitution before the age of 16

Like Levitt I decided to provide points that suit my argument.

Sources are from top 3 results in Google for "prostitution statistics":

http://www.bayswan.org/stats.html

http://kiss951.radio.com/2010/04/29/seven-statistics-about-p...

http://womensissues.about.com/od/rapesexualassault/a/Wuornos...

You have to say this because it came to mind? Really?

My dad calls it the pay-your-neighbor-so-he-can-pay-his-neighbor phenomenon. Uncle Sam makes the most money in that relationship. He makes nothing when you babysit your own kid; he makes plenty when you hire someone to do the same thing(and someone hires you to do their thing).

It'd be almost impossible to quantify - and it is probably only one of several factors - but the take-home point is that increased spending isn't necessarily an indicator of better education.

Prisons (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_incarceration_timeline-... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Incarceration_rate_of_inma...) Just locking up all the bad people sounds like a great idea but it's also ridiculously expensive and provides little long term benefit.

Pensions without appropriate savings represent a huge drain on the government that "suddenly appears" (after 30+ years).

Personnel costs rise not just with inflation but with the completion from the local job market. Unfortunately for the state it can't reduce benefits when times get tough.

1. Decide to read comments before the article.

2. Read your comment.

3. Decide I don't need to read this again.

4. Decide to leave a thank you before going elsewhere.

Thank you for your informative summary.

Your average computer scientist would have given his right arm and his first born for such a machine not all that long ago.

Sure qemu is efficient, but that little machine is plenty powerful in its own right. The fact that you normally don't actually use much of that power is why you can do this in the first place!